Machine for fastening metal stiffeners to shoe-shanks.



B. B. WATERMAN. MACHINE FOR FASTENING METAL STIFFENERS T0 SHOE SHANKS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-3.19M.

m r m WW 60M 1 M 1H a 5 M a s Z 4 55 Z m w L wb THE NORR/S PETERS 60.,PHOTC-LITHO.. WASHINGIUN. D. l

B B. WATERMAN.

MACHINE FOR FASTENING METAL STIFFENERS T0 SHOE SHANKS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, I914.

Patented May 25, 1915.

FLAQQAQ3D 5 SHEETS -SHEET 2.

offi

ZZ/z'zanasses.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO LITHOY, WASHINGTON, L c.

B. B. WATERMAN.

MACHINE FOR FASTENING METAL STIFFENERS T0 SHOE SHANKS.

APPLICATION FlLED FEB. 3, 1914.

Patented May 25, 1915.

5 SHETSSHEET a.

1,, 1%QAQ3O 7 m a "65 ww w ,0 3: k 1* o my 0%. k 0% o. H 0 W d IL t w n@wfifiwfluhh w w I 1%.- i- =5 w 6 1 a w n ,X M: 0% 70 .1 f .m V, w M Q 4251+ 1 3.1: 7 u 6 mm \A 5 M W m 7 w w MW r 7 F W if: 2 W W1 m Q. m 0. mm3 6 W M 2 Z 0 L" w m w w 34 u 7 5 m m w m m w r. U L r W/ 4 b I h i M lm wfla m v m w wm w wwww Q g L r- NORRIS PETERS CU,PHOTO i H WASHINGTOND. r

B. B. WATERMAN.

MACHINE FOR FASTENING METAL STIFFENERS T0 SHOE SHANKS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, 1914.

1 lU figfiu Patented May 25, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

. Zz/ibn/esses. I 71 06712507:

THE NORRIS PETERS 50.. PHOTC4LITHOH WASHINGTON. n. c.

v B. B. WATERMAN. MACHINE FOR FASTENING METAL STIFFENERS T0 SHOE SHANKS-APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, I9I4. 1 1%@,% Patented May 25, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

witnesses THE NORRIS PETERS C0" PHOTC-LITHQ. WASHINGTUN, D. C.

UNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTQFZ.

BRADFORD B. WATERMAN, OF EAST BRIDGEWATER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOTHE AMERICAN SHOE FINDING COMPANY, A CORPGRATION OF MAINE.

LfrtlAZB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Iiatented May 25, 1915.

Application filed February 3, 1914. Serial No. 816,327.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BRADFORD B WVATER- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at East Bridgewater, in the county of Plymouth andState of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inMachines for Fastening Metal Stiffeners to Shoe-Shanks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for fastening metalstifieners to shoe shanks.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine which is adapted toremove stiffeners, one at a time, from a stack or column of stiffeners,to progressively move said stiffener-s along suitable guides, to inserttacks or the like in perforations in said stiffeners during theintervals between the successive movements of said stiffeners and tosecure said stiffeners to shoe shanks. The invention consists in thecombination and arrangement of parts whereby the above object andcertain other objects hereinafter appearing may be attained, as setforth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machineembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a right hand side elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional elevation taken on line 33 ofFig. 1. Fig. A is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view illustrating the means fortransferring stifl'eners from a mass or column of stilfeners to theparallelly disposed guides, portions of the machine being broken away tosave space. Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 5 as viewed inthe direction of the arrows on said figure.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of thedrawings.

In the drawings, 18 is the frame of the machine on which are mounted theseveral mechanisms comprising said machine. A vertical raceway 19 ismounted upon said frame, said raceway consisting of two verticalsupports 20 adapted to be adjusted toward and away from each other andguided in said movement in grooves 21, said supports being clamped inthe positions desired by screws 22. Secured to the inner faces of thesupports 20 are guides 23 and 24;, said guides being separated from eachother to provide passages 25 adapted to receive and guide a verticalcolumn or stack of stiifeners 26. Means are provided to engage theextremities of the lowermost stiffener in said column of stiffener-s tosupport the same in said vertical raceway with one end of said lowermoststiffener slightly elevated above the other end thereof, said meansconsisting of a pair of parallelly arranged guides 27 and 28constituting a horizontal raceway. Said parallelly arranged guides areadapted to be adjusted toward and away from each other together with thesupports 20 to accommodate varying lengths of stiifeners. The passage 25formed by the guides 23 and 2% extends substantially to the bottom ofthe column of stiffeners 2G, sufficient space being left at said bottomto permit the lowermost stiffener to be removed from the mass ofstiffeners onto the parallelly arranged guides 27 and 28.

As a general rule the stiffeners composing the stack 26 are slightlycurved midway of their length and often vary in thickness therebyrendering it diflicult to remove the lowermost one in said columnwithout displacing the second, particularly when the means for feedingsaid lowermost stiffener engage the same at or near the middle thereof.

To insure the proper feeding of said stiffeners one at a time, saidstiffeners are, as hereinbefore stated, supported in said verticalraceway with one end elevated above the other and this by means of ashelf 30 preferably formed upon the guide 28. Means are also provided toadvance the elevated end of said lowermost stiffener, said meansconsisting of a thin fiat finger 31 secured to a cam lever 32 mountedupon a pivotal stud 33 fast to the frame of the machine. The finger 31is constructed of sheet material which is slightly thinner than thethinnest material employed in the construction of said stiffeners and isadapted to slide along the upper surface of the shelf which supports theelevated end of said stiffeners.

At the proper times in the operation of the machine the lever 32 isrocked upon its pivot 33 in one direction, preferably to retract saidfinger, by a cam 3i mounted upon a shaft 35 journaled to rotate in theframe 18, said cam being adapted to engage a cam stiffeners from theshelf 30 onto the guide roll 36 carried by said lever 32. In the opposite direction, preferably to advance the A guard 38 is arrangedadjacent the rear edges of the stiffeners constituting the column 26 toserve as a continuation of the guide 23 at the elevated ends of saidSillff eners in order to prevent the second stiffener in said columnfrom being misplaced when there are but few stiffeners in said column,during the retraction of the finger 31.

During the advance movement of the finger 31 the end of the lowermoststiflener in the column, which is engaged by said finger, is movedtransversely relatively to said previously occupied thereby and upon theguide 28 substantially on a level with the guide 27. By this movement itwill be seen that a considerable space will be provided between saidlowermost stiffener and the next stiffener in said column. At this stagein the operation said lowermost stiffener is resting with one endbeneath the column of stiffeners and the other end slightly advanced, asillustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. From this position said stiffener isadapted to be transferred to an intermediate position from whence it ismoved along said parallel guides, step by step, to instrumentalitiesarranged at the opposite ends of said guides which are adapted to fastensaid stiffeners to shoe shanks, said instrumentalities being hereinaftermore fully described.

The intermediate position, hereinbefore referred to, is the positionoccupied by the stifi'ener a (Fig. 5) andthe means for transferring saidstiffeners to said intermediate position preferably consist of a slidearranged to slide longitudinally of the frame 18 in guides 40, saidslide being provided with a plurality of sets of feed ngers 41 and 42mounted upon an adj ustable bracket 43, each of said sets preferablycomprising two fingers which are adapted to engage said stiffener-sadjacent the ends thereof. The fingers 41 are furthermore pivoted onsaid bracket 43, which is arranged to be reciprocated beneath saidstiffeners, while springs 44 yieldingly retain said fingers in contactwith said stiffeners. A

.reciprocatory movement is imparted to the slide 39 by a cam lever 45connected by a link 46 to said slide and provided with a cam roll47adapted to project into a cam groove 48 in a cam 49 secured to a shaft50. At each reciprocation of said slide the first said fingers yieldingas they pass beneath said stiffener-s and springing upwardly at the rearside to engage the rear edge of said stiffener upon the reversal of themovement of said slide carrying said stiffener to the positionillustrated at Z9. Upon the movement of said slide 39 to the right toengage the next stiffener from the stack, the set of fingers 42 is movedto engage the stifener at the position Z) and to move'said stiffenerupon the return of said slide into the intermdiate position a.

It willbe noted that the stiffener illustrated in dotted lines Fig. 5,with one end advanced, has its opposite end slightly resting beneath thecolumn of stiffeners, while said advanced end is perfectly free andshould the feed fingers 41 engage said stifiener and be permitted tomove it from beneath said stack, it will be perfectly evident that owingto the pressure applied to the end beneath said column that saidstifl'ener would be swung sidewise with the retarded end thereof as apivot and permitting said stiffener to drop between said guides 27 and28. To prevent this occurrence means are provided to hold the advancedend of said stiffener during the initial feeding movement thereof oruntil its retarded end has been freed from the weight of the column ofstiffeners after which said means are operated to release said advancedend and permit said stiffener to be moved along said guides to theposition Z).

The means for accomplishing the above result preferably consists of aslide 51 arranged adjacent the passage 25, which guides the elevatedends of the mass of stiffeners, said slide'having a foot 52 secured tothe lower end thereof which is permitted to descend, under the action ofthe spring 61, at certain times inthe operationof the machine by a cam53 secured to the shaft 35. Said cam engages a cam roll 54 secured to alever 55 to which is secured a rod 56 extending upwardly from said leverthrough a guide 57. An arm 58 on said rod 56 is adapted to engage a pin59 fast to said slide 51. Aspring 60, encircling the'rod 56, engages atone end'the guide 57 and at the other end a collar 62 secured to saidrod and is adapted to elevate said slide against the action of thespring 61, when permitted so to do, by the cam 53. The foot 52 engagesthe upper face of the advanced end of the lowermost stiffener, while aprojection 63 on said foot is adapted to engage the forward edge of saidstiffener, thus preventing said stiffener from being swung forwardbefore the opposite end thereof has been released from the pressure ofthe column of stiffeners. As

the stiffeners are fed along the guides 27 and 28 they are fed beneath abar 64c arranged longitudinally of said guides and substantially midwaytherebetween and by engaging said stiff'eners at the center a yieldingpressure is applied thereby to said stiffeners to retain the ends incontact with said parallel guides. From the intermediate position a thestifieners are adapted to be moved along said guides beneath a pluralityof raceways 65 which are adapted to conduct tacks, nails or the like tothe stiffeners and to insert said tacks in perforations 66 arrangedadjacent opposite ends thereof.

A large number (two of which are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5) of theseraceways have been provided along said parallel guides to insure each ofthe holes in said stiffeners receiving a tack. Heretofore it has beencommon practice to feed a plurality of stiffeners along a horizontalraceway, step by step, each of said stiifeners being moved along by thesuccessive stiffener. This method however has proved unsatisfactory forthe reason that the widths of the stiffeners often vary rendering itimpossible to set the several raceways in a position to aline with theholes in the stiffeners. To overcome this difficulty an auxiliary slide67 is arranged above and adapted to slide longitudinally of saidhorizontal raceway upon a support 68 which also serves as a support forthe bar 64:, said slide being secured to said support by screws 69 whichpass through slots 70 into said support 68. The

. slide 67 is preferably of inverted U-shaped construction and isprovided with a plurality of sets of feed fingers 71 which are pivotedat 72 to the outer faces of the legs of said U-shaped slide. [he feedfingers 71 are provided with extensions 7 3 which constitute weightsadapted to retain said fingers normally in contact with pins 7 i,permitting said feed fingers, as said slide is moved to the left Fig. 2,to slide over the next successive stiffener on the guides 27 and 28 andengage said stiffeners to push them forward during the next forwardmovements of the slide 67. A spring 75 is adapted to normally retainsaid auxiliary slide against a stop 76 upon the support 68, but as theslide 89 is reciprocated the fingers 42 are adapted to engage the end ofsaid auxiliary slide during a portion of its forward movement toreciprocate said auxiliary slide rela tively to its support.

During the movement of said auxiliary slide the first set of feedfingers 71 is adapted to engage the stiffener in the intermediateposition a and move said stiffener along said guides the distancebetween the two successive sets of feed fingers on said auxiliary slideand so on independently advancing said stiffeners progressively alongsaid guides, from said intermediate position to the forward position ofthe last set of feed fingers on said auxiliary slide and indicated bythe position 0 Figs. 2 and 3.

Each step in the movements of said stiffeners places said stiffenersbeneath a pair of raceways 65 and at which time tacks are permitted toslide down said raceways and enter perforations which aline with thelower ends of said raceways. Should a stiffener fail to receive a tackin the first, second or third position it is practically certain toreceive the same before it arrives at the position a. All superfluoustacks which fail to enter perforations in the stifieners are shaken bythe feeding of said stifl'eners through the spaces between thesuccessive stiifeners and deposited upon a pan 77 arranged therebeneathand from which they are deposited in a chute 78 which conducts them toany desired point.

The position c hereinbefore referred to is adj accent to the ends of theguides 27 and 28 at which the instrumentalities for securing thestiffeners to the shoe shanks are located. These instrumentalitiespreferably consist of a pair of anvils 79 which are adapted to alinewith the perforations in said stifl'eners.

A pair of drivers 80 are preferably arranged above said anvils in aslide 81 adapted to be reciprocated in guides 82 in the frame 18 bylinks 83 connected with levers 8 f pivoted at 85 to the frame of themachine, said levers having cam rolls 86 adapted to fit cam grooves 87in oppositely disposed cams 88 secured to a shaft 89. The drivers 80 arevertically adjustable in the slide 81 and aline with the anvils 7 9which are also adjustably mounted in the frame 18, said drivers and saidanvils also being adjustable laterally to provide for variations betweenthe perforations in said stiffeners.

Means are provided for supporting leatherboard pieces across the tops ofthe anvils 79, said means preferably consisting of brackets 90 securedto said anvils and adapted to engage the opposite ends of the shanks 91.Means are also provided for supporting a stiffener above and betweensaid shank and said drivers, said means preferably consisting ofsupports 92 adapted. to engage the extremities of said stiffeners. Thesupports 92 are in turn adjustably mounted upon carriers 93 adjustablyarranged in slides 94 respectively permitting said carriers to be movedtransversely toward and away from said drivers to accommodate stiffenersof varying lengths. Each of the slides 94: is connected to the driverslide 81 by means of two links 95 and 96 pivotally connected to eachother and respectively to said slides 94: and the lower portion of saidslide 81 and 81, said links constituting a toggle 97. On each of thetoggles 97 is journaled a cam roll 98 adapted to cooperate with a cam 99and secured to the frame 18 by means of screws 100. Each of the cams 99is provided with an inclined surface 101 which may be tangent to arcs ofcircles struck from the centers of pivots 102 of the links 95, or ifdesired, said surfaces may be formed on an arc of a circle struck fromsaid centers. Said links and cams constitute means adapted to'impart acooperativemovement to said stiffener support relatively to said driversto cause said drivers to engage the tacks in said stiffeners and drivethe same through said shank and against said anvils. when the drivers 80are in their highest positions, which positions they occupy during theinitial positions of the machines, the supports 92 will be in alinementwith the guides 27 and 28 respectively in readiness to receive astiffener from said. guides. Means are also provided to move stiffenersalong said guides'27 and 28 from the position 0 onto said support, saidmeans preferably consisting of a pair. of feed fingers 103 pivoted uponstuds 104 which in turn are mounted upon the end of the slide 39 andconsequently move said stifleners onto said supports simultaneously withthe transferal of the stiffener from the mass of stifieners onto saidguides. Subsequent to the placing ofa stiffener upon said supports saidsupports and said drivers are operated by the mechanism hereinbeforedescribed to place said stiffener upon the shank 91 resting across theanvils' 79 and to drive the tacks carried by said stiffeners throughsaid shanks, against said anvils thereby fastening said stiffener andsaid shank together.

At the conclusion of this operation means are brought into play to ejectsaid stiffenerand shank from said machine, said ejecting meanspreferably consisting of ejecting lingers 105 secured to a cam lever 106which is arranged to be rocked upon studs 107,. as pivots, by a cam 108secured to the driving shaft 89, said cam engaging a cam roll 109mounted upon said lever 106. A spring 110 secured at one end to saidlever 106 and at its opposite end to the frame 18 serves to retain saidroll in contact withthe cam 108.

. The general operation of the machine hereinbefore specificallydescribed is as follows: A rotary motion is imparted to a driving pulley136 secured to the driving shaft 89, from any suitable source not shown,and from said driving shaft the shaft 50 is rotated by gears 137 and138, while the shaft 35 is rotated by the gears 138 and 139,thus settingin motion the various cams whereby the several mechanisms of the machinewill at the proper times be operated to perform their various functions.

During the operations of said different mechanisms the stiffenerscontained in the said stifieners to the tack from whence theyareindependently prog-ressed along the guides 27 and 28 beneath the ends.of the raceways 65, which are supplied with tacks from any suitablehopper, not shown, into the position .0 where suit able means arebrought into play to transfer mentaliti'es. 7

After the stiffeners have been secured to the shank 91, which has beenpreviously placed beneath the anvil 79by the operator, the ejectors 105are brought into action to eject the finished product .fromthemachine driving instruguides, means adapted to feed stiffeners from a mass ofstiffeners one at a time to said guides, a slide arranged above saidguides, a plurality of pairs of feed fingers p votally arranged on saidslide to engage said stiffeners from above, meansa'dapted to reciprocatesaid slide to cause said several pairs of feed fingers to progressivelyfeedsaid stiffener-s from one end'of said guides to the other, andinstrumentalities adjacent said other end adapted to fasten saidstiffen-' ers to shoe shanks.

3. A machine for fasteningperforated stifieners to shoe shanks having,in combination, a support for said shanks, means adapted to guide acolumn of stiffeners, means adapted to support the stiffenersconstituting said column with one of the ends thereof elevated, means toadvance the elevated end of the lowermost stiffener in said column frombeneath said column, means adapted to supportthe advanced end of saidlowermost stiffener substantially on a level with the opposite endthereof, means adapted to feed said lowermost stiffener intermittentlyfrom the aforesaid position into a position above said shank support,means for supplying tacks to said stiffeners during the intermittentfeeding movement thereof, means adapted to move said stiffeners from theposition above said shank into engagement therewith, and means to drivethe tacks therein into said shanks.

4-. In a machine for fastening perforated stifi'eners to shoe shanks,

means to support the stifieners are fed along the guides 27 and 28 theyare fed beneath a bar 64 arranged longitudinally of said guides andsubstantially midway therebetween and by engaging said stiffeners at thecenter a yielding pressure is applied thereby to said stiffeners toretain the ends in contact with said parallel guides. From theintermediate position a the stiffeners are adapted to be moved alongsaid guides beneath a plurality of raceways 65 which are adapted toconduct tacks, nails or the like to the stifieners and to insert saidtacks in perforations 66 arranged adjacent opposite ends thereof.

A large number (two of which are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5) of theseraceways have been provided along said parallel guides to insure each ofthe holes in said 'stiffeners receiving a tack. Heretofore it has beencommon practice to feed a plurality of stifieners along a horizontalraceway, step by step, each of said stifieners being moved along by thesuccessive stiffener. This method however has proved unsatisfactory forthe reason that the widths of the stiffeners often vary rendering itimpossible to set the several raceways in a position to aline with theholes in the stifi'eners. To overcome this difficulty an auxiliary slide67 is arranged above and adapted to slide longitudinally of saidhorizontal raceway upon a support 68 which also serves as a support forthe bar 6 1, said slide being secured to said support by screws 69 whichpass through slots 70 into said support 68. The slide 67 is preferablyof inverted U-shaped construction and is provided with a plurality ofsets of feed fingers 71 which are pivoted at 72 to the outer faces ofthe legs of said U-shaped slide. The feed fingers 71 are provided withextensions 73 which constitute weights adapted to retain said fingersnormally in contact with pins 741-, permitting said feed fingers, assaid slide is moved to the left Fig. 2, to slide over the nextsuccessive stiffener on the guides 27 and 28 and engage said stiffenersto push them forward during the next forward movements of the slide 67.A spring 75 is adapted to normally retain said auxiliary slide against astop 76 upon the support 68, but as the slide 39 is reciprocated thefingers 42 are adapted to engage the end of said auxiliary slide duringa portion of its forward movement to reciprocate said auxiliary sliderelatively to its support.

During the movement of said auxiliary slide the first set of feedfingers 71 is adapted to engage the stiffener in the intermediateposition a and move said stifiener along said guides the distancebetween the two successive sets of feed fingers on said auxiliary slideand so on independently advancing said stiffeners progressively alongsaid'guides, from said intermediate position to the forward position ofthe last set of feed fingers on said auxiliary slide and indicated bythe position 0 Figs. 2 and 8.

Each step in the movements of said stifieners places said stiffenersbeneath a pair of raceways 65 and at which time tacks are permitted toslide down said raceways and enter perforations which aline with thelower ends of said raceways. Should a stiffener fail to receive a tackin the first, second or third position it is practically cer tain toreceive the same before it arrives at the position 0. All superfluoustacks which fail to enter perforations in the stiffeners are shaken bythe feeding of said stiffeners through the spaces between the successivestiifeners and deposited upon a pan 77 arranged therebeneath and fromwhich they are deposited in a chute 78 which conducts them to anydesired point.

The position c hereinbefore referred to is adj accent to the ends of theguides 27 and 28 at which the instrumentalities for securing thestilfeners to the shoe shanks are located. These instrumentalitiespreferably consist of a pair of anvils 79 which are adapted to alinewith the perforations in said stifieners.

A pair of drivers 80 are preferably arranged above said anvils in aslide 81 adapted to be reciprocated in guides 82 in the frame 18 bylinks 83 connected with levers 84: pivoted at 85 to the frame of themachine, said levers having cam rolls 86 adapted to fit cam grooves 87in oppositely disposed cams 88 secured to a shaft 89. The drivers 80 arevertically adjustable in the slide 81 and aline with the anvils 7 9which are also adjustably mounted in the frame 18, said drivers and saidanvils also being adjustable laterally to provide for variations betweenthe perforations in said stiffeners.

Means are provided for supporting leatherboard pieces across the tops ofthe anvils 7 9, said means preferably consisting of brackets 90 securedto said anvils and adapted to engage the opposite ends of the shanks 91.Means are also provided for supporting a stifiener above and betweensaid shank and said drivers, said means preferably consisting ofsupports 92 adapted to engage the extremities of said stiffeners. Thesupports 92 are in turn adjustably mounted upon carriers 93 adjustablyarranged in slides 94; respectively permitting said carriers to be movedtransversely toward and away from said drivers to accommodate stiffenersof varying lengths. Each of the slides 9% is connected to the driverslide 81 by means of two links 95 and 96 pivotally connected to eachother and respectively to said slides 94k and the lower portion of saidslide 81 and 81, said links constituting a toggle 97. On each of thetoggles 97 is journaled a cam roll 98 adapted to cooperate with a cam 99and secured to the frame 18 by means of screws 100. Each of the cams 99is provided with an inclined surface 101 which may be tan gent to arcsof circles struck from the centers of pivots 102 of the links 95, or ifdesired, said surfaces may be formed on an arc of a circle struck fromsaid centers. Said, links and cams constitute means adapted to impart acooperative movement to said stiffener support relatively to saiddrivers to cause said drivers to engage the tacks in said stiffeners anddrive the same through said shank and against said anvils. when thedrivers 80 are in their highest positions, which positions they occupyduring the initial positions of the machines, the supports'92 will be inalinement with the guides 27 and 28 respectively in readiness to receivea stiffener from said guides. Means are also provided to move stiifenersalong said guides 27 and 28 from the position 0 onto said support, saidmeans preferably consisting of a pair of feed fingers 103 pivoted'uponstuds 104 which in turn are mounted upon the end of the slide 39 andconsequently move said stiffener-s onto said. supports simultaneouslywith the trans feral of the stiffener from the mass of stiff eners ontosaid guides. Subsequent to the placing of a stiffener upon said supportssaid supports and said drivers are operated by the mechanismhereinbefore described to place said stiffener upon the shank 91 restingacross the anvils 7 9 and to drive the tacks carried by said stiffenersthrough said shanks, against said anvils thereby fastening saidstiffener and said shank together.

At the conclusion of this operation means are brought into play to ejectsaid stiffener and shank from said machine, said ejecting meanspreferably consisting of ejecting fingers 105 secured to a cam lever 106which is arranged to be rocked upon studs 107, as pivots, by a cam 108secured to the driving shaft 89, said cam engaging a cam roll 109mounted upon said lever 106. A spring 110 secured at one end to saidlever 106 and at its opposite end to the frame 18 serves to retain saidroll in contact with the cam 108.

The general operation of the machine hereinbefore specifically describedis as follows: A rotary motion is imparted to a driving pulley 136secured to the driving shaft 89, from any suitable source not shown, andfrom said driving shaft the shaft 50 is rotated by gears 137' and 138,while the shaft 35 is rotated by the gears 138 and 139, thus setting inmotion the various cams whereby the several mechanisms of the machinewill at the proper times be operated to perform their various functions.

During the operations of said different mechanisms the stifienerscontained in the vertical raceway 19 are transferred one at a time ontothe guides 27 and 28, constituting the horizontal raceway, first to theposition 6 and thence to the position a from whence they areindependently progressed along the guides 27 and 28 beneath the ends ofthe raceways 65, which are supplied with tacks from any suitable hopper,not shown, into the position 0 where suitable means are brought intoplay to transfer said stiffcners to thetack driving instrumentalities.

After. the stiifeners have been secured to the shank 91, which has beenpreviously placed beneath the anvil 79 by the operator, the ejectors 105are brought into action to eject the finished product from themachine inreadiness for the machine to again pen form its operations.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire by LettersPatent to seguides, a plurality of pairs of feed fingers pivotallyarranged on said slide to, engage said stifi eners from above, meansadapted to reciprocate said slide to cause said several pairs of feedfingers to said stiffeners from one end of saidv guides to the other,and instrumentalities adjacent said other end adapted to fasten saidstiffeners to shoe shanks. I o I 3. A machine for fastening perforatedstiffeners to shoe shanks having, in combination, a support for saidshanks, means adapte ed to guide a column of stiffeners, means adaptedto support the stiffeners constitutprogressively feeding said columnwith one of the ends thereof elevated, means to advance the elevated endof the lowermost stiffener in said column from beneathrsaid column,means adapted to support the advanced end of said lowermost stiffenersubstantially on a level with the opposite end thereof, means adapted tofeed said lowermost stiffener intermittently from the aforesaid positioninto a position above said shank support, means for supplying tacks tosaid stiifeners during the intermittent feeding movement thereof, meansadapted to move said stifieners from the position above said shank intoengagement therewith, and means to drive the tacks therein into saidshanks.

. 4. In a machine for fastening perforated stifleners to shoe shanks,means to support a shank, a raceway for said stiifeners, means to feedtacks to said stifieners, means to feed said stiffeners one at a timefrom said raceway to an intermediate position in advance of said tackfeeding means, a plurality of sets of feed fingers, means to move saidfeed fingers to successively engage said stiifeners and move the samestep by step from said intermediate position to a point above saidshank, and means to fasten said stiifeners to said shank.

5. In a machine for fastening stiffeners to shoe shanks, means adaptedto guide a stack of stiifeners, means adapted to support said stiffenersin said guides with one end elevated above the other, a pair ofparallelly disposed guides arranged on a level with the lower end of thelowermost stiffener in said stack and in alinement with the sides ofsaid stack guiding means, means to advance the elevated end of thelowermost stiffener in said stack onto one of said guides to separatesaid lowermost stiffener from the next stiffener in said stack, meansadapted to move said advanced stiffener step by step along said parallelguides, and means arranged at the ends of said guides adapted to securesaid stiffener to said shoe shank.

6. In a machine for fastening stiifeners to shoe shanks, a racewayadapted to guide a stack of stiffeners, means adapted to support saidstack of stiffeners in said raceway, means adapted to advance one end ofthe lowermost stiffener in said raceway transversely relatively to saidstiifeners, means to engage said advanced end and support the same at asubstantial distance be low the position previously occupied thereby,with said lowermost stiffener lying at an angle to a vertical planecontaining the major dimensions of the stiifeners in said stack andmeans adapted to engage said lowermost stiffener and feed the same frombeneath said stack.

7. In a machine for fastening stiffeners to shoe shanks, a racewayadapted to guide a stack of stiifeners, means adapted to support saidstack of stii t'eners in said raceway, means adapted to advance one endof the lowermost stiffener in said raceway, means to engage saidadvanced end and support the same at a substantial distance below theposition previously occupied thereby, means adapted to engage the rearedge and feed said lowermost stiffener from beneath said stack, andmeans adapted to hold the advanced end of said lowermost stiffener untilthe opposite end thereof has been removed from beneath said stack ofstiffeners.

8. In a machine for fastening stiffeners to shoe shanks, a racewayadapted to guide a stack of stiffeners, means adapted to support saidstack of stiffeners in said raceway, means adapted to advance one end ofthe lowermost stifiener in said raceway, means to support the advancedend of said stiffener at a. substantial distance below the positionpreviously occupied thereby, a slide, a pair of free fingers carried bysaid slide, means adapted to operate said slide to move said fingersinto engagement with the rear edge of said lowermost stiffener and feedsaid stiffener from said advanced position into an intermediateposition, and means to hold the advanced end of said stiffener duringthe initial feeding movement of said stiffeners, said means beingadapted to release said stiffener upon the removal of the opposite endthereof from beneath said stack of stiffeners.

9. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks,means adapted to guide a vertical column of stiffeners, a pair ofparallelly arranged guides, means to advance one end of the lowermoststiffener in said column onto one of said guides, a slide, a pluralityof sets of feed fingers mounted on said slide adapted to move saidadvanced stiffener into an intermediate position on said guides, anauxiliary slide adapted to be moved by said slide, a plurality of setsof feed fingers carried by said auxiliary slide adapted to progressivelvfeed stiffeners from said intermediate position to the opposite ends ofsaid guides, means to insert tacks in the perforations in saidstiffeners during the progressive movements thereof, and means adjacentsaid opposite ends adapted to fasten said stiffeners to shoe shanks.

10. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks, ashank support, a vertical raceway adapted to guide a column ofstiffeners, a horizontal raceway adapted to conduct stiifeners from saidvertical raceway toward said shank support, said raceway consisting of apair of parallelly arranged guides adapted to support said stiffeners bytheir ends, means adapted to transfer the lowermost stiffener in saidcolumn of stiffeners onto said guides, means to move a plurality ofstiffeners individually and simultaneously, step by step along saidguides, means adapted to guide tacks to said stiffeners during theinterruptions in the step by step movements of said stiffeners, andmeans to secure said stifi'eners to shoe shanks.

11. A machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks having,in combination, an anvil, a driver, means to support a shoe shankbetween said anvil and said driver, means adapted to support a stiffenerbetween said driver and said shank, a horizontally disposed racewayadapted to guide stiffeners to said stiffener support, a plurality ofpivoted feed fingers adapted to severally move said stiffenersindividually and intermittently along said raceway and onto saidstiffener support, means to deposit tacks or the like in theperforations in said stifi'eiiers between the successive movementsthereof along said raceway, and means adapted to impart a cooperativerelative movement to said stiffener support and said driver to causesaid driver to engage the tack in said stiffener and drive the samethrough said shank and against said anvil.

12. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners provided withperforations adjacent the ends thereof to shoe shanks; anvils arrangedto aline with said perforations, drivers arranged to aline with saidanvils, means to support a stiffener between said anvils and saiddrivers, means to support said shank between said anvils and saidstiffeners, a raceway, means adapted to independently move a pluralityof stiffeners intermittently along said raceway onto said stiffenersupport, means adapted to guide tacks or the like into the perforationsin said stiffeners during the passage of said stiffeners along saidraceway, and means adapted to move said drivers and said stiffeners todrive the tacks carried by said stifii'eners through said shank.

13. In a machine for fastening stiffeners to shoe shanks, a racewayadapted to guide a stack of stiffeners, means adapted to sup port saidstack of stiffeners in said raceway, means adapted to advance one end ofthe lowermost stiffenerin said raceway, means to engage said advancedend and support the same ata substantial distance below the positionpreviously occupied thereby, a slide, a pair of feed fingers carried bysaid slide, means adapted to operate said slide to move said fingersinto engagement with the rear edge of said lowermost stiffener and feedsaid stiffener from said advanced position into an intermediateposition, means to hold the advanced end of 7 said stiffener during theinitial feeding movement of said fingers, said means adapted to releasesaid stiffener upon the removal of the opposite end thereof frombeneath" said stack of stiffeners, and instrumentalities adapted to feedsaid stiffeners from said intermediate position and secure the same to ashoe shank.

14. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks, apair of parallelly arranged guides, a slide arranged above saidparallelly arranged guides, means to reciprocate said slidelongitudinally of said guides, a plurality of sets of feedfingerspivotally mounted on said slide, each of said sets of feed fingersadapted to successively engage a stiffener and move the same along saidguides, said feed fingers adapted to be moved by their own weight intoengagement with said stiffeners, means to insert tacks in theperforations in said stifleners at each successive step in the movementsof said stifieners along said guides, and means adjacent the ends ofsaid guides adapted to fasten said stiffeners to shoe shanks.

15. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks, apair of parallelly arranged guides, a slide arranged above saidparallelly arranged guides, means to reciprocate said slidelongitudinally of said guides, a plurality of sets of feed fingerspivotally mounted on said slide, each of said sets of feed fingers beingadapted to successively engage a stiffener and move the same along saidguides, said feed fingers having extensions which constitute weightsadapted to yieldingly retain said fingers in contact with saidstiffeners, means to insert tacks in the perforations in said stiffenersat each successive step in the movements of said stiffeners along-saidguides, and means adjacent the ends of said guides adapted to fastensaid stiffencrs to shoe shanks.

16. In a machine for fastening perforated stiffeners to shoe shanks, apair of parallelly arranged guides, a slide arranged above saidparallelly arranged guides, means to reciprocate said slidelongitudinally of said guides, a plurality of sets of feed fingerspivotally mounted on said slide, each of said sets of feed fingers beingadapted to successively engage a stiffener and move the same along saidguides, said feed fingers having extensions which constitute weightsadapted to yieldingly retain said fingers in contact with saidstiffeners, stops on said slide adapted to be engaged by said extensionsto limit the pivotal movements of said BRADFORD B. WATERMAN;

Witnesses CHARLES L. REDDING, WALTER G; SMALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I); 0.

presence of two subscribing

